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Behind H-P Chairman's Fall,
Clash With a Powerful Director

The Cautious Patricia Dunn
And Flashy Tom Perkins
Were a Combustible Pair

By

George Anders and

Alan Murray

Updated Oct. 9, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Within weeks after her unexpected ascension to the chairmanship of Hewlett-Packard Co. last year, Patricia Dunn found herself in open warfare with another director: wealthy venture capitalist Tom Perkins.

They argued over how the board should be run. He has called her a "stickler for process and procedure." She says he was a...